A Duchess a Day (Awakened by a Kiss #1) - Charis Michaels Page 0,102

dropped into a curtsy that somehow revealed more of her bosom and ankle at the same time. Watching Knightly Snow affect even the most common posture was like hearing a trained soprano sing “Drink Another Round Before Sunrise.”

“How do you do?” said the duke—the second most cordial thing Declan had ever heard the man say. “Are you enjoying the party?”

Declan looked at Helena, and she stared back with their future in her eyes. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.

“I don’t really like the birthday parties of old men,” proclaimed Knightly Snow. “If I’m being honest. But I do like dukes.” She gave him a smile that said very plainly, What do you like?

“Well . . .” began the duke, and now Declan witnessed another first. The man was nervous.

Helena saw it too. “Miss Snow,” she began, “would you mind very much if I said two words to the duke before we continue this conversation? Perhaps you could say your farewell to Shaw. I’ll steal the duke away only for a moment?”

Knightly narrowed her eyes, preparing to challenge this. Declan knew she hated to be obstructed when she’d homed in on a new prospect. He slipped his hand around her arm and yanked her down the corridor. “Novel idea, my lady. Miss Snow and I will say our farewells.”

“Declan,” Knightly complained, but he shepherded her away. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Helena rounding on Lusk, whispering as if her life depended on it.

Declan did the same. “Listen, Knightly. I need you to throw your considerable . . . ‘enthusiasm’ toward this duke and . . . and make him fall head over heels for you.”

“What?” she said, pulling free of his grasp.

“You owe me, Knightly. You owe me so much more than simply coming back to England. I was in jail. I have had to marry my wife under the cover of darkness, with strangers, and keep it a secret—”

“What does any of that have to do with me?”

He took a deep, frustrated breath. “More than you’ll ever have the patience to comprehend. Look, this man is so incredibly wealthy, and so incredibly indulged, and so incredibly cynical, that no woman—no woman—fazes him. But he perked up when he saw you. Did you see it?”

“Well, naturally . . .”

“As a favor to me, because you owe me, I’m imploring you to captivate him. Bring all of Knightly Snow’s considerable charms to bear. If you can get him to marry you, even better.”

“Marry me?”

“You have to marry sometime, Knight. Even I’ve done it, and you were correct. I swore I’d never marry anyone.”

“How rich would you say he is?”

“You see this mansion? It’s one of three he has in London alone. There’s one in Somerset. He’s a duke, Knightly; he’ll have homes all over the country. And carriages. Your every whim would be indulged. Best of all, the two of you have the same interests. You could be Duchess of All the Things You Love to Do.”

“I cannot commit to marrying him, Declan, even as a favor to you.”

“Fine. Just get him to break away from his family and release Helena from their clutches. They want him to marry her.”

Knightly wrinkled up her nose. “Oh, they would never suit. She’s far too . . . thin. And she’s married to you.”

Declan held out his hands, a gesture of surrender. “I’ve done what I could to pry her away from the combined ambitions of the two families. Now you can do what you can for me. If ever you cared for me. If you are up to the challenge. When you meet his family, you will see. I guarantee it will be a greater challenge than ever you have faced. Greater even than the palace. He’s got an uncle just begging to go toe-to-toe with you.”

“Really?” Now she sounded intrigued.

“The uncle will deplore you—but he’s not the duke. There’s the lucky bastard who’s ‘Your Grace.’ ” Declan pointed at Lusk. “And he is in dire need of someone to liberate him in a very particular, very Knightly Snow sort of way.”

Knightly stared down the corridor at the duke, his hands in his pockets, his head down, as Helena spoke quickly and urgently.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” said Knightly, tugging on her bodice. “For you. And because I think he’s handsome. In a dazed, malnourished sort of way. It makes me want to fatten him up.”

“I’m sure that you will expand him in every known way,” said Declan, and Knightly, who was far